The red-headed girl dragged herself across to Lauren’s feet, twitching occasionally as though another force was pulling in the opposite direction. L...uren noticed that something was running down her face and neck and that her hair was a mess of tangles, stuck together in places to her face. Her movements were slow, lethargic in comparison to the bubbly girl who had been with them that morning in the Jacuzzi. The contrast again reminded Lauren of the danger they were all in, and turning back to. I wasn't sure what Red meant until the first stroke of a cane burned into my ass. It was a totally involuntary reaction to the pain from my ass that instantaneously transferred into pain in my nipples as the weights started swinging because my body was jerking in reaction to each stroke.I lost count at fifteen or sixteen and was so deep in sub space that it took quite a while before I realized that the beating had stopped. Coming to think, it must have been the pain surging through my nipple. I was almost getting used to the idea ofthere just being the two of us. Then she got into that awful accident.It was so scary thinking of her being stuck in the hospital with allthose tubes and wires attached to her. It was even scarier thinkingabout my father trying to take me away from her.As I tried my best to believe my mom would be out of the hospital soonand stop thinking about what life might be like with my father, AuntJoan looked around the side of the couch and picked up a small. The boys heard Thad's mother and the door at the same time and their hearts jumped into their throats, but they were relieved that Leah didn't 'catch' them so compromised.By now, the rain had virtually stopped and the boys started showing up, Rick, not surprisingly, being the last one.At the dinner table, Leah found herself staring at the hotdog Thad was holding, then at the kielbasa that Thad's mom was cutting, then at some cucumbers, and knockwursts; everything was reminding her of the sight.